Heart patients are likely to benefit from a revolutionary new technology that would offer a wider window for transplant once the precious organ is retrieved from the donor. The rare system is set to double the survival time of a heart from the present four hours to nearly nine hours. The phenomenon will ease travel-time limitations, allowing doctors to avoid use of air ambulance and opt for commercial flight to transport donor heart if there is scope. This will mean a considerable reduction in the cost burden on the patient.

Logistics for the new technology are being drawn up by doctors in Chennai, who are now awaiting approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI).

Dr KR Balakrishnan, director of Cardiac Sciences at Chennai’s Fortis Malar Hospital, who has 54 heart transplants under his belt, told dna: “We are working on several options to transport donor hearts from one place to another. At the same time, we’re also working on this system which will help us in keeping the donor heart for up to nine hours. We’ve already developed this system with the help of a local scientist. Also, we’ve had discussions with the Union health ministry. Now, we’re waiting for the approval from the DGCI. Currently, air ambulance is mostly used for transporting donor hearts, which is a costly affair. Once the survival time of the organ increases, we can go for commercial flights, which will cut down the cost burden on the patient.”

With more and more patients opting for heart transplant, experts feel that five years down the line around 1,000 patients will have undergone this procedure.

Recently, Maharashtra saw three heart transplant procedures conducted at Mumbai’s Fortis Hospital. In one of these cases, the hospital administration used an air ambulance.

Currently, Custodial Cardioplegia system is being used the world over for heart transportation. In this system, the heart is placed in preservation solution in a sterile bag surrounded by ice cubes. This system allows only four hours to the surgeon after retrieval of the heart.

The cost of a heart transplant procedure is between Rs20 and Rs22 lakh. If air ambulance is used to bring the donor heart from one state to another, then a patient has to shell out Rs5-7 lakh more.

A heart transplant or a cardiac transplantation is a surgical procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease. It is considered only when neither medication nor other surgeries can ensure the patient’s survival.

Dr Anvay Mulay, Heart transplant surgeon who conducted three heart transplant procedures in Mumbai, said: “This is a very good system and the government should give it the go-ahead.”

Source : http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-new-technology-to-double-survival-time-of-donor-heart-2127840